Participants: Jim Gilley & Danny Shelton (Host), Bruce & Jacki Fjarli, Pr. Doug Batchelor
Series Code: 14HC
Program Code: 14HC000011
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01:05 In Christ alone
01:08 my hope is found. 01:11 He is my light, my strength, my song. 01:16 This Cornerstone, 01:18 this solid Ground 01:21 firm through the fiercest drought and storm. 01:26 What heights of love, 01:29 what depths of peace, 01:32 when fears are stilled and strivings cease! 01:37 My Comforter, 01:39 my All in All... 01:42 here in the love of Christ I stand. 01:55 In Christ alone, who took on flesh 02:00 fullness of God in helpless babe. 02:05 This gift of love and righteousness 02:11 scorned by the ones He came to save. 02:16 Till on that cross as Jesus died 02:21 the wrath of God was satisfied. 02:26 For every sin on Him was laid... 02:32 here in the death of Christ I live. 02:57 Oh there in the ground 03:00 His body lay 03:03 Light of the world by darkness slain. 03:08 Then bursting forth in glorious day 03:13 up from the grave He rose again. 03:18 And as He stands in victory 03:24 sin's curse has lost its grip on me. 03:29 For I am His and He is mine, 03:34 bought with the precious blood of Christ. 03:47 No guilt in life, 03:50 no fear in death... 03:52 This is the power of Christ in me; 03:58 From life's first cry 04:00 to final breath 04:03 Jesus commands my destiny. 04:08 No power of hell, 04:11 no scheme of man 04:13 can ever pluck me from His hand. 04:20 Till He returns 04:24 to take me home 04:26 here in the power of Christ I'll stand. 04:31 No power of hell, 04:34 no scheme of man 04:37 can ever pluck me 04:40 from His hand. 04:43 Here... 04:47 here in the power 04:50 of Christ 04:55 I stand. 05:05 Amen! Praise the Lord! 05:08 Thank you, Yvonne. 05:11 Going to show you a little short video, a musical video 05:16 in just a moment, but before that I want to introduce 05:19 our speaker today: pastor, evangelist, author 05:22 Doug Batchelor. I don't know anybody in the Adventist church 05:25 when I travel that I've had... 05:28 And I don't want to give numbers, but whether it's 05:30 hundreds or thousands over the last few years 05:32 everywhere I go people come up and say 05:35 "Praise the Lord for 3ABN! 05:37 I've come to know Jesus. " And many of those say 05:40 "and I was baptized through the ministry of Doug Batchelor, 05:44 Amazing Facts, and 3ABN. " 05:46 So what a great "working togetherness" it has been 05:49 for so many years. And then we started our satellite seminars 05:52 way back in the 90's also. 05:55 We continue this relationship because Doug is committed... 05:59 he has sold out to the Lord Jesus Christ 06:02 and is committed to evangelize the entire world. 06:05 And all the resources that we have go to support him 06:09 and many others who are out there on the front lines. 06:12 And so we are thankful that he is our speaker here. 06:14 But right before he comes let's put on this song 06:18 and my daughter Melody is going to sing it. 06:20 This part of the new Hallelujah! Home At Last 06:22 second coming. She sang it; we recorded it. 06:25 For Ever He's Alive. 10:50 Amen! Thank you, Melody. That was beautiful! 10:54 Beautiful new song. 10:56 Also so much enjoyed Yvonne singing a few moments ago. 10:59 I've been sitting back there listening to the just inspiring 11:03 testimonies, and it's a thrill for Amazing Facts to be able 11:07 to partner with 3ABN for these... Well, since inception 11:11 with Joe Crews's programs and myself. 11:15 I think it was about 19 years ago I made my first trip here 11:19 and it's just a delight to be back and to be talking about 11:22 the gospel and the second coming of Jesus. 11:27 And we're looking forward to working together in about 11:29 a month in this special up-link that's going to be happening 11:34 from Albuquerque, New Mexico. 11:35 I hope that you will all be praying. 11:38 You know, the Bible tells us if the Lord doesn't build 11:40 the house we labor in vain. 11:42 And so we're just praying for God to bless this new series 11:45 coming - it will be broadcast here on 3ABN - 11:48 called Landmarks of Prophecy. 11:50 It will be a similar Net event to the Prophecy Code and 11:53 The Millennium of Prophecy. 11:54 People watch those old programs 11:56 still and they say: "Pastor Doug, how come you look 11:58 so different than you did back then? " 12:02 And so I thought: "I'd better get something updated. " 12:04 And so we just encourage you 12:07 to not only pray for it... participate in the program. 12:10 If you have no evangelistic plans scheduled for your church, 12:13 if nothing else you would want to record the programs 12:16 so you could use them. But bring some people to your home 12:19 and bring some people into your church. 12:21 You can go to the website and download the lessons 12:24 and advertising... everything you need. 12:26 It's just very simple: landmarksofprophecy. com 12:29 And so I hope that you'll utilize the program 12:31 and please pray for us. 12:34 Well, this week we are talking about how to survive the storms. 12:39 And we've been looking at a variety of Biblical storms. 12:44 And I'd just like to pray again with you 12:46 as we prepare to delve into God's Word 12:49 that His presence will be here. 12:52 Father, we do believe we are living in the final days 12:56 of the world's history, and not only is there a great storm 13:00 coming that You told us about in prophecy. 13:03 We all encounter storms of varying degrees 13:06 in our lives. And we just pray for wisdom and grace 13:10 so that we can be witnesses for You through these storms 13:14 and survive with peace coming out the other side. 13:17 Speak to all of us through the power of Your Word right now. 13:20 We pray that You will be glorified, 13:22 and we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. 13:28 Max Lucado in one of his books talks about 13:31 Chippy, the parakeet. I don't know if you've read that story? 13:35 This lady had a parakeet, Chippy. Used to sing, 13:37 keep her company in his cage there in the kitchen. 13:40 And one day she wanted to help clean up the cage. 13:43 And that always made him very nervous because 13:46 she used the vacuum cleaner. You know, some animals 13:49 they leave the room. And Chippy couldn't really help it. 13:53 She thought it was the easiest way to pick up the seeds 13:55 and things in the bottom of the cage. And so one day 13:57 she had the little nozzle off. You know, the little sweeper 14:00 thing, and she stuck the hose into Chippy's cage 14:04 after she got the paper out. She's cleaning up the corners 14:06 and Chippy's making this awful terrified squawking noise 14:09 and the phone rang. 14:12 And she wanted to reach the phone. 14:15 She reached for the phone. She didn't realize she tipped up 14:17 the end, and just as she picked up the phone 14:19 and said "hello" she heard Chippy stop squeaking 14:21 and she heard "choomp. " 14:24 And she knew right away what had happened. 14:26 She dropped the phone. She quickly turned off the vacuum. 14:29 She opened it up. She saw something moving inside the bag. 14:34 She tore the bag open and extricated poor Chippy 14:37 who was just covered with dust and dirt 14:40 and all the innards of a dirty vacuum cleaner bag 14:43 and coughing and sneezing little parakeet sneezes. 14:46 And she felt so bad. She took him over to the kitchen sink 14:50 and she turned on the water. Thought it would help him, 14:54 and she stuck him under there 14:55 and the water just poured over him 14:57 and tried to clean him all up. 15:02 And after she had done that she got him pretty clean - 15:04 soap and everything - 15:08 but Chippy was now shivering. 15:11 So she went and she got the hair dryer. 15:14 And she turned it on high. 15:19 Help Chippy down and blew him over 15:26 and then put him back in his cage. 15:29 Well, she told the neighbor about this... who managed to 15:31 mention it to the local paper 15:33 and the epic trials of Chippy made the news. 15:39 News reporter called a few days later and he said: 15:41 "You know, a lot of people have called in. They're wondering 15:43 how is Chippy doing. " 15:46 And she said: "Well, to tell you the truth, 15:48 he doesn't sing much any more. He makes this occasional 15:52 moan and he just sort of stares. " 15:59 But you can't really blame him. 16:01 I mean, after you've been sucked up, poured over, 16:05 and blown off it can do something to your song. 16:12 And sometimes the storms we go through in life change us. 16:19 Now if there's anybody in the Bible who knew something about 16:22 storms that was the apostle Paul. 16:26 Turn please with me in the scriptures to II Corinthians 11. 16:31 II Corinthians 11 verse 23. 16:35 Just in case you think your storms have been more 16:40 than anyone could endure 16:42 listen to Paul describe some of his adventures 16:45 in serving the Lord. He's comparing himself to 16:48 some of the other apostles and teachers that had cropped up 16:51 in the church and they were dismissing the things 16:53 that Paul said. And Paul said: "You know, 16:56 my experience gives me credibility 17:00 and there are none of the other apostles or teachers 17:04 that have been through what I have been through. " 17:09 And it says here in II Corinthians 11:23: 17:12 "Are they ministers of Christ? 17:15 I speak as a fool... I am more. 17:18 In labors? More abundant. In stripes? " That's when you 17:21 were whipped... "above measure. 17:24 In prisons more frequently. 17:26 In deaths? Often. From the Jews, five times 17:30 I received forty stripes minus one. " 17:33 Five times four is what? 17:36 Twenty. So five times forty would be 200 17:41 minus five lashes. 17:45 395... no... 195 lashes. 17:49 Should have done the math before I got out here. 17:53 That wasn't my strong suit. 17:56 "From the Jews five times I received 40 stripes minus 1. 17:59 Three times I was beaten with rods. 18:02 Once I was stoned. " 18:04 How many people can even live to write about that? 18:08 Paul actually may have been resurrected. We're not sure. 18:11 It says he was stoned and he was laying there. 18:13 For all we know he was dead and God raised him up. 18:17 "Once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked. 18:23 A night and a day I have been in the deep... " 18:26 Floating around in the vast ocean. 18:32 "In journeys? Often. In perils of waters. " 18:35 There he's got the waters again. 18:37 "In perils of robbers; 18:39 in perils of my own countrymen. 18:41 In perils of the Gentiles. " 18:44 That covers everyone: Jew and Gentile. 18:46 "In perils in the city; in perils in the country. " 18:49 Everything from mad crowds to wild animals. 18:52 "In perils in the sea. " There you have it again. 18:55 Paul knew the sea. He was born in Tarsus by the sea. 19:00 "In perils among false brethren. " 19:02 Have any of you experienced that? 19:05 "In weariness and in toil; in sleeplessness? Often. 19:10 In hunger and thirst and fastings? Often! 19:14 In cold and nakedness. Besides the other things 19:18 that come upon me daily... 19:19 my deep concern for all the churches. " 19:23 Boy, he'd been through it! 19:25 Paul was high mileage. 19:27 That's why Paul could write: "I bear in my body 19:30 the marks of our Lord Jesus Christ. " 19:32 His back was all riddled with scars 19:36 for his faith. 19:38 Jesus said: "If anyone would come after Me, 19:42 you need to take up your cross 19:44 daily. Deny yourself. " 19:47 You'll have treasure in heaven 19:49 and it's still better to serve the Lord. 19:53 I know it doesn't sound like the most optimistic advertising 19:56 campaign. You know, a lot of pastors are trying to market 19:59 Christianity by giving everybody what they want. 20:02 But that's not what Jesus said. 20:04 Amen! 20:06 He said: "Whosoever will deny his life 20:08 will find it. If you seek to save your life you'll lose it. 20:12 But if you're willing to lose your life for My sake 20:15 and the gospel you'll find it. " 20:17 Paul, when he finally met Jesus and he saw how much 20:20 Jesus had suffered for him, 20:22 and He said: "Paul, Paul, how long will you 20:27 kick against the goads? " 20:30 And Paul fasted three days. No food... no water. 20:34 That's a pretty tough fast. 20:35 And he gave himself to Jesus 20:37 and Paul was "sold out" for Christ. 20:39 And you know what? He says that everything he went through 20:42 he counts as nothing compared to the riches 20:46 that he had in Jesus. 20:48 The constant joy that Paul was able to have... 20:51 Paul was never afraid of any storm. You know why? 20:54 If you are truly God-fearing, you don't fear anything else. 20:58 Amen! If you're not God-fearing, 21:00 you'll end up fearing everything else. 21:01 Amen! But God said... Jesus tells us that 21:04 He gives us a peace that passes understanding 21:07 so that even in the midst of a storm 21:10 we are fearless - Amen! - 21:12 'cause you know that God is in charge of your life. 21:15 And you know, when you become a Christian 21:18 you are crucified with Christ, you are dead to self. 21:20 How many times can you die? 21:22 If you're dead to self, then what happens to this life 21:28 and this body you're not afraid of any more. 21:31 By the way, if you're dead to self, nobody can hurt 21:33 your feelings. Mmmm. A lot of times we're so offended 21:37 by what others say is because we've got too much self inside. 21:40 Amen! Amen! Paul... he really lived it out. 21:44 Now you know, the Bible begins with a big storm 21:46 in the story of Noah, and you've got the storm of Jonah. 21:51 You've got a number of storms along the way. 21:53 If you turn to the book of Acts 27 21:56 the history of the early church ends with a storm 22:00 at sea. Pretty epic storm. 22:03 Whole chapter 27 is dedicated to this storm. 22:07 So if you go to Acts 27, and let me just give you the background 22:11 of what we're going to read together. 22:15 Paul had been arrested by his own countrymen. 22:18 They just about beat him to death. 22:20 A mob almost tore him limb from limb there in the temple. 22:23 You remember that? And he loved the Lord so much 22:27 here that they're trying to kill him. They're beating him; 22:30 they're throwing things at him. 22:32 And in the middle of all of this as the Roman guards came in 22:35 they rescued Paul from the mob. 22:37 They're dragging him up onto the steps to get him away. 22:40 And as soon as they get him out of the reach of the mob 22:42 and he's behind the Roman lines 22:44 the soldiers protecting him 22:45 he says to the centurion: "Can I talk to the people? " 22:50 And he tries immediately to preach to... 22:54 Boy, that's an evangelist, right? 22:56 You try to convert the people that are wanting to kill you. 23:00 And Paul just wanted to reach as many as he could. 23:02 He knew what it meant to love your enemies. 23:04 He's trying to reach the people that were trying to kill him. 23:06 Anyway, he ended up having to go to court. 23:09 And the Jews in Jerusalem... they continued to accuse him. 23:12 He was in jail for a while there in Caesarea. 23:14 Finally he said: "Look, I'm never... " 23:15 He's been in jail two years. He said: "I'm never going to get 23:17 justice here as long as the Jews are here. 23:18 I need to appeal to Caesar. " That was the Supreme Court. 23:21 You could appeal to Caesar if you were a Roman citizen 23:23 which Paul was because he was born in Tarsus. 23:27 And so they had to go along with his appeal 23:31 but the best way to get to Rome was by boat. 23:33 Took a lot less time by boat than it did walking by land. 23:36 So this is the story of his journey, but he is on this 23:40 boat with a load of other prisoners and some cargo 23:43 on their way to the king - Nero at the time of Rome - 23:47 to appeal for his release. 23:51 So we'll begin with verse 9. 23:54 They dilly-dallied a little too long 23:57 as they were preparing for this voyage. 23:59 And he's in the care of a Roman centurion by the name 24:03 of Julius. It's interesting when you read the Bible 24:06 the Roman centurions all ended up being pretty good men 24:10 and this man was one of them. 24:13 Another good thing if you're going to go through a storm 24:15 it's nice if you don't have to go through the storm alone. 24:18 If you've got friends, that can make a world of difference. 24:21 And you see here that Paul 24:23 when you read up in the early part of chapter 27 24:26 is with a friend named Aristarchus. 24:29 And the one who writes this story is Luke. 24:33 So Luke is with him 'cause Luke says: "We did this 24:36 and we did that. " 24:37 So Paul is with two companions who accompany him. 24:41 Isn't it nice if you've got to go to court to have friends? 24:45 You've got to have good friends 24:46 that are going to take a 1-year journey to go to court with you. 24:49 I mean, this was a big trip back then to go all the way 24:53 to Rome. Those were friends. Stick closer than a brother. 24:58 And so, he's got some friends with him. 25:01 And it's good to have friends. 25:02 They can pray with you through a storm. 25:05 But they had taken too long. The Fall is here. 25:08 The good time for sailing is gone. 25:11 The storm season is about to begin. 25:14 And it says in verse 9: 25:16 "Now when much time had been spent 25:18 and sailing was now dangerous because the fast was over... " 25:22 He's referring to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. 25:25 That ought to speak to us. 25:27 They were at the end of the Jewish year 25:30 and that for them was a trigger. 25:31 On their sailing calendar they said: "You don't sail 25:33 after that because you've got a good chance of running into 25:36 a storm. " And they can come up suddenly. 25:40 Paul advised them... verse 10: 25:42 "Men... " He's talking to the people in charge of the ship... 25:45 "I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster 25:48 and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship 25:50 but also our lives. " "It's too late and too dangerous 25:53 to make this trip to Rome this time of year. " 25:56 Paul knew. He had sailed all around the Mediterranean. 26:00 He was born on it; he understood sailing. 26:02 I mean, this guy had been shipwrecked three times. 26:03 You're pretty good after you're on three shipwrecks. 26:07 And so, you know, here you've got the soldiers 26:10 and you've got the ship owners and you've got the captain 26:12 and the crew. And all of a sudden one of the prisoners 26:16 pipes up and he says: "You'd better not be sailing now. 26:20 It's dangerous. You're going to lose your cargo. 26:21 We'll probably lose our lives. It's too late. " "Who are you? " 26:26 They said: "We're not listening to you. " 26:28 Ha-haa... they were sorry they didn't. 26:31 "Nevertheless, the centurion was more persuaded by the 26:34 helmsman... " - the pilot - 26:35 "and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. " 26:39 By the way, friends, you are wise to listen to Paul. 26:42 "And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in... " 26:45 They didn't want to spend all the time parked in this harbor 26:48 that was exposed to the sea. And it would be... 26:50 Boat would be rockin' at dock. 26:52 "the majority advised to set sail from there also. 26:55 'By any means at least we could get to Phoenix... ' " 26:57 It was a harbor in Crete. 26:58 It had a pleasant harbor that opened to the southwest and 27:01 the northwest. 'and winter there. ' " 27:04 You could shop... a little more comfort. 27:06 So that's what they tried to do. 27:10 "And when the south wind blew softly... " 27:13 Sometimes just before the storm things blow softly. 27:19 "Supposing that they had obtained their purpose... " 27:21 "Oh, look at the beautiful weather. We're going to 27:22 make it! " "they put out to sea. " 27:25 Sometimes it's calm. "Peace, peace 27:28 before sudden destruction comes" the Bible says. 27:33 "They put out to sea and they sailed close by Crete. 27:37 But not long after a tempestuous headwind arose 27:42 called Euroclydon. " Related to the word Europe. 27:45 It was a special wind that had a similar name 27:49 because it came down from the north. 27:52 "So when the ship was caught and it could not head into the wind 27:55 we let her drive. And running under the shelter of an island 28:00 called Claudia, blocked from the wind briefly. " 28:02 As the ship was going by this island they thought 28:04 "We'd better tie things off. 28:05 "We'd better batten down the hatches. " You ever heard that 28:07 expression before? "We secured the skiff. " 28:11 They were dragging a little boat behind them... 28:13 their little lifeboat. All the ships have these 28:14 because they'd park off shore. They'd take a little boat back 28:17 and forth. They said: "We'd better haul that thing up 28:20 on the davits and tie it off onto the boat. " 28:27 It says: "We took on board the lifeboat and we used cables 28:31 to undergird the ship. " 28:34 That means that they actually tried to tie off the ship by 28:37 wrapping strong ropes around it 28:39 and cinching it down because they thought they had 28:42 cargo, they had passengers. They thought: "We're getting 28:44 ready to head out into a storm we'd better tie things off 28:47 every way we can... every way we could to hold this thing 28:49 together. " Which is a good idea for us as well. 28:57 "Fearing that we should run aground on the Syrtis sands 29:00 they struck sail and so were driven. 29:03 And because we were exceedingly tempest tossed 29:08 the next day they lightened the ship. " 29:10 Now, they're making this voyage; they're transporting goods. 29:14 That's some of the money. One of the things that they 29:16 found in the Mediterranean they found a number of Phoenician 29:19 shipwrecks. The Phoenicians sort of ran... they were 29:22 the truckers' union in the Mediterranean. 29:24 They had all the shipping trade. 29:26 And they found a number of these Phoenician wrecks, 29:28 and they had... they carried a lot of wine and oil in jars. 29:32 And they would load that at the bottom of the ship 29:34 because it gave the ship weight and stability and ballast. 29:37 And so they found a number of these wrecks where the jars 29:40 were all... they say "in fora"... all lined up. 29:43 And it's one of the last things that they found. 29:46 They found some that were still sealed. 29:48 And so they began to toss some of the valuable cargo out: 29:52 the oil and the wine that they were going to trade with. 29:57 You know, sometimes it's in a storm 30:01 it's a good idea to unload. 30:04 It's hard to run the race in the Christian life when you're 30:06 weighed down. Amen! 30:09 The Bible tells us: "Seeing... " Hebrews chapter 12 30:12 verse 1... "Seeing then that we are surrounded 30:15 by so great a cloud of witnesses 30:18 let us run the race that is set before us 30:20 laying aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily 30:24 beset us, fixing our eyes on Jesus... " Setting our eyes 30:28 on Jesus... "the Author and the Finisher 30:30 of our faith. " If we're going to run that race 30:32 and if we're going to get through the storm, 30:34 you might need to lighten your load. Amen! 30:37 Might need to downsize. Amen! 30:41 Good time... If you've been praying about: "Lord, 30:44 would this be a good time to invest in Your work 30:47 in spreading the gospel? " 30:50 It's like they were saying earlier: "If you're livin' 30:53 when you're givin' you're knowin' where it's going. " 30:56 And you have never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul, 31:00 have you? 31:02 "Naked you come into the world... " 31:04 like it or not... "naked you go out. " 31:06 Amen! It'd be nice for you to have something to say. 31:08 As a pastor I do a lot of funerals. 31:11 And it's really sad because sometimes before the funeral's 31:14 even over the family's fighting over the possessions. 31:19 And they may have gotten along all their lives 31:21 and I've seen an estate that wasn't carefully planned 31:26 tear a family apart. 31:28 But if you make good provision, get those things in order, 31:32 set your stuff up for the Lord's work. 31:34 I've also soon people who are Christians all their life 31:36 they may have children that are not, and they've got 31:38 considerable wealth. And they leave this wealth 31:41 they wanted to use for God's kingdom 31:44 to children that are unconverted... 31:46 that are basically dedicated to the devil. 31:49 I'm just being frank with you. 31:50 I think you ought to show love for your family 31:53 in your will, but you shouldn't give the lion's share 31:57 of God's treasure to the enemy. 32:01 Invest in God's kingdom. 32:03 David loved Solomon, but you know where David 32:05 put most of his treasure? In the house of God. 32:08 He wanted to build up the house of God. 32:10 That should be our plan. So they see this storm is 32:13 just tearing them apart, and they start to lighten the boat. 32:20 "And because they were exceedingly tempest tossed... " 32:23 Like the book of Jonah... "the next day they lightened 32:25 the ship. On the third day it got so bad 32:28 we threw the ship's tackle overboard with our own hands. " 32:32 Paul said: "I still can't believe it. They asked us 32:35 the... " You know what the ship's tackle is? 32:37 That's all the pulleys and the ropes and the things you do 32:39 to operate the boat. But they had extra tackling 32:41 underneath. They said: "Throw it all overboard. " 32:43 Extra sail, everything is getting thrown overboard. 32:47 "Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days... " 32:51 You know what that means in Bible times? 32:54 They did not use GPS. 32:56 How did they know where in the world they were? 33:00 They'd get out and they'd do some markings and chartings 33:03 and they'd find out the location of the sun during 33:05 the day and the stars during the night and they could 33:07 fix their position. They were pretty good at it back then. 33:11 But it is so cloudy and it is raining and blowing so hard 33:14 they can't even tell where the sun is coming from 33:16 because they're all polarized by these storm clouds. 33:19 And at night there's no moon, there's no stars. 33:21 And all they know is that they are being blown around 33:24 the gray sea during the day and the dark sea during the night. 33:27 I've been in the Mediterranean. 33:31 As a matter of fact, I landed on the same island 33:34 where Paul ends up getting shipwrecked. 33:36 And we were in a storm in the same ocean 33:39 when I was 16 years old. 33:43 I was on a boat that was a school. It was 33:46 sailing around the world and it was in the Mediterranean 33:48 when I was there with them. 33:50 And, you know, I always tell people: "When you look at a map 33:53 of Europe compared to the other oceans of the world 33:55 the Mediterranean's only that big. " 33:57 You know what I mean? It's not very big in the world. 33:59 But you get down in it and you find out that it's a sea. 34:03 And you get there you can't see the land for days 34:07 when you're in a little sailboat. 34:09 And the waves can get pretty monstrous. 34:16 And they were beginning to wonder if there was any hope. 34:19 "When neither sun nor star appeared for many days... " 34:24 Has God given us signs so we can know where we are? Amen! 34:30 Should God's people know where we are in the scope of time? 34:34 Amen! Jesus said: 'You can look at the sky 34:36 and you can tell what the weather's going to be 34:37 tomorrow. " You look and you say: "Look, 34:39 red sky at night... sailor's delight. 34:41 Red sky at morning... sailor: take warning! " 34:43 That's modern translation of what Jesus said. 34:47 He said: "You can look at the sky and discern the weather 34:49 tomorrow. " He says: "How come you can't discern the signs 34:51 of the times? " 34:53 Jesus tells us there will be signs of the times. 34:57 I have never been... And I'm not just saying this 34:59 I really mean it, friends. I have never been 35:02 more excited and stirred 35:07 about what I see happening in the world 35:10 as harbingers of the last days than I am now. 35:13 Amen! Maybe I'll say more tonight 35:18 about some of what the specifics are. 35:20 It'd be real easy to get sidetracked - yeah - by that 35:25 right now. I want to get Paul out of this storm. 35:30 "No small tempest was on us. " 35:33 That's Luke's way of writing when he says: "No small" 35:36 he means very big. 35:37 "All hope that we should be saved was finally given up. " 35:42 You know, people start losing hope if they don't know 35:44 where they are. If you're in a storm 35:47 and you can see your destination... 35:50 I remember one time 35:51 our family went and did some meetings in Micronesia. 35:55 And there's an island. It's supposed to have some of the 35:58 best scuba diving in the world not too far from Micronesia 36:02 on an island called Ant nine miles across the sea. 36:05 Ant - A-N-T - is the name of the island. 36:07 So family - three kids - we went out with a couple of natives 36:12 Pohnpeians, and we went scuba diving. 36:16 And they had thought we were going to spend the night there. 36:18 And we said: "No, we weren't planning on spending the night 36:20 here. " There were no facilities on the island; 36:22 the mosquitoes are just eating us alive. And we said: 36:24 "Any chance we could go back to the mission? " 36:27 They said: "Oh yeah, it's getting dark but 36:29 yeah, well, we'll try it. " 36:30 So they got out on the sea and the sun went down. 36:33 They had no lights. 36:35 And they had this motorboat wide open. 36:38 This is an open boat... no covering. 36:40 It's what they call "a Boston whaler. " 36:42 And the wind came up and the waves got big. 36:46 And all the kids were huddled down hanging on to their little 36:50 life jackets under the seat. 36:52 And the boat just kept going up and slapping down. 36:54 And these guys were wide open. On the way out there, they were 36:57 dodging palms that were out in the ocean and coconuts 37:00 that were out there, and there's coral reefs out there 37:03 that they were looking at. They can see any of this now. 37:06 I hadn't even thought about that. 37:08 And yet they've got the thing wide open 37:09 and it was pretty terrifying for a couple of hours 37:13 to be out there and not see anything but dark and the waves 37:16 bouncing up and down. And finally, you know, I'm poking 37:19 my head up and we finally saw the green light of the harbor 37:24 of Pohnpei... and I felt so much better. 37:27 Because just that one little light gave us some bearing 37:31 and hope. You know, if you can see the end, 37:35 if you can see where you're heading, 37:37 you can endure a lot of things 37:39 if you know it's not going to last. 37:40 If you can see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. 37:43 They saw no light. 37:46 And where there's life there's hope, and where there's light 37:48 there's hope. There's a lot of people out there in the world 37:51 and they see no hope. They have no light. 37:54 God wants you to be a light in the world for them. Amen! 37:56 Jesus should be shining and reflecting through you. 38:02 "But after long abstinence from food... " 38:05 Paul hadn't lost faith. Luke is talking about everybody else. 38:08 "But after long abstinence from food then Paul stood 38:12 in the midst of them and said: "Men, you should have listened 38:15 to me. " "I told you so... " 38:19 "You should have listened to me and not sailed from Crete 38:22 and incurred this disaster and loss. 38:24 And now I'd like to urge you to take heart 38:27 for there will be no loss of life among you 38:30 but only the ship. For there stood by me this night 38:34 an angel of the God who I belong to 38:38 and whom I serve saying: 'Do not be afraid, Paul. 38:42 You must be brought before Caesar. ' 38:44 And indeed, God has granted you all those who sail with you. " 38:48 God said: "Paul, look... I'm not done with you 38:50 so you're going to make it no matter what. " 38:52 He'd already survived three shipwrecks, right? 38:55 And He said: "You have to ac- tually testify before Caesar 38:59 and so you're going to make it. " 39:04 C.D. Brooks said this happened to him once. 39:06 It's also happened to me 39:08 where I was on an airplane and it was very turbulent. 39:12 And I had been talking to my seatmate, and they found out 39:15 I was a pastor. 'Cause one of the first things you say: 39:18 "Where are you going? " "What do you do? " 39:19 And I said: "I'm a pastor; I'm going to speak... 39:21 whatever. " And we got into some really bad weather. 39:25 And you know that it's turbulent when the captain tells the crew 39:28 to sit down and stop serving. 39:31 And I remember looking around and seeing one lady next door. 39:35 She pulled out her rosary and started counting her beads. 39:38 Now I'm a pilot and I get nervous, too. 39:40 I remember one guy got up because he just had to go 39:43 to the restroom. And it had been turbulent for so long 39:45 and he kept waiting and waiting for them to turn off 39:47 the seat belt sign. And I guess he couldn't wait any more 39:49 and he thought: "I've just got to get up and go to the 39:51 restroom. " And he got up, got half-way down the aisle 39:54 and the stewardess shouted: "Sit down! " 39:56 And he started going back to his seat 39:59 and she said: "Sit down in the aisle. " 40:02 Have you ever heard them tell someone to sit right where they 40:05 are in the aisle? It was bouncing that bad 40:07 they were afraid he was going to fall on somebody 40:08 and really get hurt. They said: "Sit where you are 40:11 right now. " So this guy sits down in the aisle. 40:14 I mean, this was how bad the turbulence was. 40:18 This lady who's sitting next to me said: 40:20 "I'm so glad I'm sitting next to a pastor 40:23 because I figure we're going to make it 40:25 'cause God wants you to go speak somewhere. " 40:31 And I said: "I wish that was always true, but I know a few 40:35 missionaries didn't make it to their destination. " 40:40 So... But God said to Paul. He said: "Look, you've got to go 40:43 to Caesar. " And Paul said: "Well, Lord, since I'm going to 40:45 make it I'm interceding for everybody else on the boat. " 40:50 Now Paul is doing what Jesus is doing. 40:52 And he says to them... verse 22: 40:55 "Now I urge you to take heart; be encouraged. 40:59 There is going to be no loss of life for you 41:01 but only the ship. " Ship's going to be lost. 41:04 All the stuff is going to be lost. 41:06 Only thing that's going to be saved is you. 41:10 Nothing in this world is going out of this world but people. 41:13 Amen! 41:15 We spend an awful lot of time worried about our stuff. 41:17 None of it's going to make it. Amen! 41:19 All of it's going to get burned up. Amen! 41:21 I know we need to occupy till Jesus comes 41:23 and we need to take care of things, 41:25 but when you really keep perspective 41:28 nothing is going to eternity except characters transformed 41:31 by the power of Jesus. Even the body you're wearing... 41:34 you're going to get a new one. 41:35 It's only the characters that are going to be transformed. 41:38 "For there stood by me this night an angel of God 41:41 to whom I belong... " Do you belong to that God? 41:45 "saying: 'do not be afraid, Paul. ' " 41:48 Said "Don't be afraid. " Isn't that what Jesus said? 41:50 "Therefore, " Paul says... verse 25: "take heart 41:53 for I believe God. " 41:56 They could believe the captain; they could believe the elements. 41:59 They could believe the wind; they could believe the boat. 42:01 They could trust in all kinds of things. 42:02 Paul said: "My faith isn't in any of that 42:04 but I believe the Word of God 42:06 that it will be just as He told me. 42:10 However, we must run aground on a certain island. " 42:13 The angel told him exactly what was going to happen. 42:17 "But when the fourteenth night had come 42:19 and they were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea. " 42:23 You know, I did a message on this once before, and I 42:27 took out my map and I tried to track it. They went about 42:29 520 miles going like 37 miles a day. 42:33 They were battered to and fro going everywhere. 42:39 "About the fourteenth night had come; driven up and down 42:42 in the Adriatic Sea about mid- night... " When does it happen? 42:44 The darkest hour. 42:46 "The sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land 42:49 and they took soundings. " 42:52 What that means is they take these ropes. 42:54 They could hear maybe a crashing in the distance 42:57 and they got ropes with weights on them. And the ropes 42:59 have knots in them. You know, and then they would measure 43:01 how fast they were going. They'd say: "I'm going 12 knots; 43:03 five knots. " 'Cause they'd throw out this rope 43:04 and they'd see how quick the knots went out. 43:07 And they also used that to see how deep it was. 43:09 They'd throw out this rope with weight on it. 43:12 They'd drop it out; they'd let it slip from their hands. 43:14 It would pull very fast. When it hit the bottom 43:15 it would stop pulling. They'd measure and see how 43:17 deep it was... how many fathoms it was. 43:19 And they noticed they kept taking soundings 43:21 and it was getting more shallow meaning they were drawing 43:24 near some land. It's night. 43:26 They don't want to crash on the rocks. 43:29 "They took soundings and found it to be 20 fathoms. 43:31 And when they had gone a little further they took soundings 43:33 again and they found it to be 15 fathoms. " 43:36 Are we nearing shore, friends? 43:38 Should we be taking regular soundings where we are 43:41 in the Word of God and in the prophecies? 43:44 Looking at the signs of the times? 43:47 "And then fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks 43:51 they dropped four anchors from the stern and they prayed 43:54 for day to come. And as the sailors were seeking 43:58 to escape from the ship... " You notice it says they dropped 44:01 four anchors from the stern. 44:04 Hold the boat from blowing up into the shore. 44:09 The Bible says there are four angels just before the end 44:12 that are holding back the four winds of strife. 44:15 Talk about a storm in the last days. There is a storm that 44:18 is all pent up and ready to be released on this world. 44:21 And it's God that is holding back those angels 44:24 that are holding back that storm 44:25 lest it blow upon the tree and the land 44:28 until the servants of God are being sealed in their foreheads. 44:31 That would be now. 44:32 People are receiving the Seal of God. 44:37 "And as the sailors seeking to escape from the ship... " 44:41 They said: "You know, this ship is going to wreck 44:42 and there's only one little lifeboat. Why don't we give it 44:44 to the prisoners. Everyone's going to be fighting over the 44:46 lifeboat. " "When they let the lifeboat down... " 44:49 They call it the skiff. "into the sea under pretense 44:52 of putting out anchors... " They act like: "Oh, yeah, we're 44:54 working on the anchors. " Paul saw what they were doing. 44:57 He knew; the Lord revealed it. 44:59 "Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers: 'Unless these 45:04 men stay in the ship you cannot be saved. ' " 45:08 Well that's an interesting statement! 45:10 "Then the soldiers... " Now they're believing Paul! 45:13 They're taking orders from the prisoner. 45:16 "Then the soldiers cut away the ropes 45:18 of the lifeboat... let it fall off. " 45:21 Boy, they're desperate now. 45:22 Now they're not trusting the lifeboat. 45:25 We think we've got ourselves prepared. I've got money in 45:27 the bank; I've got gold hidden away 45:31 in case the money fails. 45:33 Got a hydroelectric system and solar panels 45:37 and lots of soybeans or whatever. 45:42 Your trust better just be in the Lord 45:45 because all that stuff is going to crumble. 45:48 There's nothing that's going to save us like Paul said. 45:51 And you know what else? He basically said: "Unless 45:53 we stay together, we're not going to make it to shore. " 45:56 Amen. 45:58 The devil wants to divide God's people in the last days. 46:01 "Unless these abide in the boat 46:04 none of us are going to be saved. " 46:07 We need to be concerned about all of us staying together. 46:11 Some of us are thinking: "Oh, just let those sailors go. 46:13 They didn't smell right anyway. " 46:17 "And when he had said these things he took bread... " 46:20 I'm sorry... verse 33: 46:23 "And day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to 46:27 take food. 'Today is the four- teenth day and you have waited 46:30 and continued without food eating nothing. ' " 46:33 They had been fasting for a long time. 46:36 "Therefore I urge you: take nourishment. " 46:38 You know why they weren't eating anything? 46:40 Have you ever been in a storm like that? 46:42 You don't have much appetite when you're seasick. 46:46 And it's hard to cook on a boat that's pitching and reeling 46:49 and diving and plunging and jumping up and down. 46:52 They didn't even have time to eat. 46:55 Says... Paul said: "You need strength. 46:58 This is for your survival. " 47:00 Says: "Not a hair will fall from the head of any of you. " 47:05 I've never taken much comfort in the last part of that verse. 47:13 "And when he said these things he took bread and he gave thanks 47:16 to God in the presence of them all. And when they had broken it 47:19 he began to eat. And they were all encouraged 47:23 and they took food for themselves. " 47:25 Just before the storm breaks... I emphasized this a little 47:28 yesterday. That's why Noah stored food away on the ark. 47:32 You need to eat bread. 47:34 "Man doesn't live by bread alone but by every word. " 47:37 Now's when we need to be feasting on the Word of God. 47:42 You know, hummingbirds... 47:43 Some of you saw a little Amazing Facts we put out 47:45 there on hummingbirds. 47:47 And it's interesting that hummingbirds... they have to eat 47:50 their body weight just about every day 47:53 'cause they've got an incredibly-fast metabolism. 47:55 They'll die of low blood sugar if they don't eat for about 47:58 20 minutes of flying. 47:59 Except for one time in their life: 48:01 for a week in the Fall they gorge on nectar 48:07 and millions of hummingbirds then make an epic migration 48:11 where they have to fly with about 20 million wing beats 48:14 across the Gulf of Mexico in one trip. 48:17 How they do it they don't know, but they just... they... 48:20 they gorge is the only word I can think of. 48:25 They just eat flowers and nectar 48:28 and then they make it to the Yucatan Peninsula. 48:30 And sometimes they get caught in storms and they have to fly 48:32 right through it. There's nowhere to land. 48:35 And that's where they migrate to. 48:38 We are nearing the storm 48:41 and now's when we really need to be fortifying our minds 48:45 with the truth of God's Word. 48:46 We need to be prepared to give an answer for what we believe. 48:49 We need to be reading our Bibles. 48:51 We need to do Bible memorization in our churches, 48:53 in our families. Feasting on the Word 48:56 to get us through the storm. 48:57 Paul said: "I urge you to take nourishment. This is for 49:01 your survival. " He prayed, they ate, and they were all 49:04 encouraged. It'll encourage you 49:07 to eat the Bread of Life. Amen! 49:10 "Now all... " There were 276 people on this ship. 49:16 You know, they found a boat in 34 AD 49:19 that was made by Caligula. 49:23 Some people say "No, they could never had had boats 49:24 that big. " There by the Leonardo da Vinci airport 49:27 in Rome they need to expand the airport 49:29 and in digging up they found an ancient ship of Caligula 49:33 that was over 380 ft. long 49:37 and it carried 600 to 800 soldiers on it. 49:42 Yeah, they had boats that big. 49:44 Now just notice this: 276 people on the ship. 49:49 "When they had eaten enough they threw out the rest of the 49:51 wheat in the sea. " They threw everything overboard. 49:53 Some day you won't have your Bibles, friends. 49:55 You'll just have what's in you. 49:56 That's all they had left. 49:58 "And now when it was day they did not recognize the land 50:01 but they observed a bay... a beach into which they planned 50:05 to run the boat if possible. 50:07 And so they let go the anchors up from the sea. 50:11 Meanwhile, loosing the rudder ropes they hoisted the main sail 50:14 and they made a run for shore. 50:16 But they came into a place where two seas met. " 50:19 The seas came around the island and they clashed. 50:22 "And they ran the ship aground 50:24 and the bow, the prow, stuck fast 50:26 and remained immoveable but the stern was being broken up 50:29 by the violence of the waves. " 50:30 Waves were crashing beating it back and forth. 50:32 The nose is stuck. "Now the soldiers plan 50:35 was to kill the prisoners lest any of them should swim away 50:38 and escape. " They were all going to be executed. 50:42 A Roman soldier cannot lose a prisoner. 50:45 You remember what happened when Peter escaped from jail? 50:47 Herod killed the soldiers that let him get away. 50:51 "But the centurion wanting to save Paul 50:54 for Paul's sake kept them from their purpose. " 50:58 Paul on that ship kept everybody else alive. 51:02 He's a type of Christ. 51:04 If Jesus is in your boat, that's what keeps us alive. 51:08 And God wants to do through you what He did through Paul. 51:11 He wants to save others through you. Amen! 51:14 Everybody in the boat ends up being saved. 51:16 It's an amazing story! 51:18 "Wanting to save Paul kept them from their purpose 51:21 and commanded that those who should swim 51:24 jump overboard first and get to land. 51:27 The rest, some on boards and some on broken pieces of 51:30 the ship. So they all escaped safely to land. " 51:35 Not one was lost just as Paul said 51:39 because they had listened to the Word of God. 51:41 You know, I believe that our church is nearing the end. 51:47 I think we're going to encounter a severe storm 51:51 and we're going to end up where I don't believe a church 51:56 as an organization is going to be able to function 51:58 in the last days. 52:00 That just stands to reason. 52:02 So what are we going to do? 52:05 We're going to be gathering in little groups 52:07 clinging to whatever pieces of the ship are left 52:10 after we come out the other side of the storm 52:12 and we're going to be making for the shore. 52:14 Amen. And the reason that Paul 52:17 was on that ship is God wanted to save others through him. 52:22 Then he gets to the island. He's building a fire 52:25 and trying to warm everybody. 52:27 Here, I mean, he's done all this to save everybody. 52:29 Paul is serving. He's building a fire; he's carrying the wood 52:32 'cause they're shivering. It's raining. 52:34 And a viper comes out and bites him on the hand. 52:38 A deadly viper. 52:39 And when Jesus said "You'll pick up snakes" 52:41 that's what He's talking about. He doesn't mean you go 52:43 looking for them. It means you take them up. 52:44 He shook it off into the fire. 52:47 The serpent was destroyed; the devil still tried to get him. 52:50 And all the people watching said: "Oh, boy, justice. 52:53 You know he must have been a terrible murderer 52:54 or something because he survived the storm and now 52:56 the viper gets him. " But nothing happened to Paul. 53:00 "No deadly thing will harm you. " Amen! 53:02 And then they said: "Well maybe he's a god! " 53:05 And Paul then prayed for and healed one of the leaders 53:08 on the island. And then they brought all the people 53:10 on the island and he prayed for and healed them. 53:12 All the time everybody on the ship and everybody on the island 53:15 started looking to Paul as God's messenger 53:17 and there was a revival on the island of Malta. 53:20 And there are still Christians there today 53:21 all these years later. 53:23 And God used the storm to save these people. 53:27 Amen! You know, our greatest opportunity 53:30 to witness is going to be through the storm. 53:32 Amen! And He wants us to let our light shine. 53:35 This world is in darkness. 53:38 I remember reading a few years ago about a young girl 53:41 named Ida Lewis. 53:43 She was the daughter of a man named Captain Hosea Lewis 53:46 who took care of the Lime Rock Lighthouse 53:49 near Newport, Long Island. 53:51 This was in the 1850's. Captain Lewis had a stroke 53:55 but his family business was taking care of the lighthouse 53:58 so they had no other income. 54:00 They said: "Ida can do it. " She was 14 years old 54:02 at the time. They had several other children. 54:04 Mrs. Lewis took care of the father. 54:07 Ida did most of the work. She kept the light burning 54:10 in the lighthouse. She kept the window clean. 54:11 She made all the runs. She'd have to row her brothers 54:15 and sisters in this big rowboat that they had - 54:17 14-year-old girl - back and forth to school 54:21 200 yards each way. 54:23 And that's like 800 yards round trip 54:27 doing it twice a day plus the miles around 54:29 the harbor there near Newport. 54:33 And many times there were people who had problems 54:37 in the harbor. Their boats would capsize 54:39 and because of their vantage point Ida would go out. 54:43 This little girl... and she'd save them. 54:45 One time four sailors capsized their boat. 54:48 Some of them couldn't swim, and the water was icy. 54:51 Ida went out. She rescued them all. 54:53 Sixteen years old at the time, and the sailors were so 54:55 embarrassed that they had to get rescued by this 54:58 16-year-old girl. 55:00 Another time a boat capsized that was carrying 55:04 somebody's prized sheep. And the men were trying to get 55:06 the sheep out and they nearly drowned. 55:08 She went and rescued them and then she went back 55:09 and she got the sheep. 55:11 Sometimes she was towing other boats. 55:12 And she was so strong for a little girl. 55:15 That boat was like an extension of her body. 55:17 She was just using it every day. 55:20 Then there was a really terrible storm one night 55:22 and a boat capsized out in the bay in the dark. 55:25 Water was frozen. Ida was sick 55:28 but her mother said: "A boat's just gone over. " 55:31 And Captain Lewis couldn't do it. Ida went out 55:35 in her bare feet terribly sick. 55:38 She rowed out. She rescued three of the men. 55:41 One boy drowned. 55:43 And she made the cover of Harper News back then... 55:45 which was the big magazine. 55:47 Ida Lewis and her lifeboat. 55:49 And after that it tells us that everybody heard about Ida. 55:54 Presidents came to visit her. 55:55 She had lots of marriage proposals. 55:59 She took care of that lighthouse for many years. 56:05 And at one point they wanted to give her 56:11 a reward. It says: "She became a national heroine. 56:15 Ida received fan mail from the rich and famous. 56:18 Even President Ulysses S. Grant went to visit her. 56:21 She also received quite a few marriage proposals. 56:24 New York gave her a mahogany rowboat with red velvet cushions 56:27 and gold braid around the gun walls 56:29 and gold-plated oar locks. 56:31 The boat was named "The Rescue. " 56:33 Over the 50 years that Ida tended the lighthouse 56:37 this small woman rescued at least 18 people 56:40 from the cold and often treacherous waters off Lime Rock. 56:44 Unofficially, the number was much higher. 56:46 When she died in 1911 56:48 every ship bell in Newport tolled all night long. 56:52 The Bible tells us that the ship is supposed to be 56:56 something of a lifeboat. 56:58 We're like a lighthouse. 57:00 We're to be reaching out and to save others 57:04 and bringing them back. 57:05 There's going to be storms in life, 57:08 but the Lord wants us to know if He's in our boat we have 57:10 nothing to be afraid of. Amen! 57:12 God wants us to be reaching others. 57:14 Because Jonah was in the boat people were saved. 57:17 When Jesus was in the boat others were saved. 57:19 When Paul was in the boat others were saved. 57:20 Because Noah was in the boat others were saved. 57:23 If Christ is in your boat, then He wants to use you 57:27 to reach others. Amen! Is that your desire, friends? |
Revised 2015-09-02